Cuphead: The Devil in Disguise
by sweetsilverdusk
Summary: The Devil's Casino gets two unexpected visitors who want to make a deal.


The Devil's Casino gets two unexpected visitors who want to make a deal.

I wanted to thank circateas, Suspicious-Spirit , and tomorobo-illust for the Cuphead inspired art pieces that got the juices rolling for this one. You can see their amazing art pieces via tumblr. Idea belongs to brightgoat.

Also, I may continue this, but I have yet to decide. Also R&R!

The Casino was packed, more so now than it had ever been before. A majority of the patrons were the regulars who intended on continuing to come, even though the story of Cup bros had spread like wildfire across the three Inkwell Iles. The rest were… people who were interested and wanted to see the proof of everything. Even if it meant bargaining their souls with the devil himself to hear the full story of how he was beaten at his own game.

To King Dice, it didn't matter. As a matter of fact, he couldn't be more grateful to the Cup brothers. They had only increased the casino's popularity and revenue since the defeat. Obviously, those who had bargained their souls with the devil in the first place wanted nothing to do with the casino nor the owner. But even they couldn't forbid anyone from entering the godforsaken hell.

But, tonight seemed slightly off. It felt as if there was a change in the air. Dice looked out over the casino, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Wheezy, one of his closest friends and a personal guard of sorts, stood next to him, a cigar sticking out of his already rotting mouth.

"Relax, boss," Wheezy grinned, smoke erupting from his mouth and nose, "There ain't nothin' bad goin' on down there. Besides, Mikey has been workin' 'round the clock, checkin' every nook and cranny of this place."

"I know," the die replied, his eyes flashing green with anger, "I just feel somethin's going on and it's buggin' me that I don't know what."

"Even so, Dice," the cigar continued, "We can't know fer sure until we get there."

"I don't want to be caught off guard it is."

"We won't. Not _this_ time."

Ever since their defeat, the employees had been on a constant high alert in case they need to defend themselves, Dice, or the Devil. Each one had improved on their attack skills as well as their defense, as ordered by the boss as soon as the Devil was in the clear. Even Dice had taken it upon himself to train his cards a little harsher, even though they were still very precious to him.

"DICE!"

Both Dice and Wheezy turned to see Mikey racing toward them. Mikey, or known as "the Announcer" to many in the casino, was in charge of security and had been the one to alert both Dice and the Devil of any changes as the Cup Brothers went about trying to recollect all the contracts. The microphone stopped slightly short, huffing slightly.

"Take yer time," Dice said, "No need fer yer cords ta get wound up."

"That's just it, boss," Mikey said, "They are... but that ain't why I've been lookin' fer ya."

The microphone straightened up and spoke those three little words that Dice had come to dread, "Cuphead and Mugman."

Dice's eyes flashed, "What?! Here?!"

"Y-yes s-sir. They're in the lobby."

At that moment, Hopus Pocus came bounding towards the trio from the other side, "Boss! Boss! The cup brothers are here! They want ta speak with ya an' the Devil!"

Dice looked at the others before turning to Hopus, "Where are they?"

"Waitin' in the lobby, sir!"

Dice looked at Wheezy, "Wheezy, ya and Hopus take the brothers ta see the Devil. I'll meet 'em there."

The two turned and left, carrying out Dice's orders. He turned toward Mikey, "Mike, I need ya to keep an eye on the Devil's lair, just in case this is a trick of sorts."

"And what about you, boss?"

King Dice straightened his suit jacket and placed his hands behind his back, "I've got a meeting with the Devil and two troublesome brothers."

In the caverns under the Casino, Dice stood beside the Devil, who sat upon a stone carved throne, as the two brothers made their appearance. They were little shrimps the last time Dice had seen the two, but they had definitely grown since then.

Cuphead, the eldest of the two, still kept his signature red with black. A red scarf was tied around his neck while he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and red overall shorts with black shoes. Although Mugman was the youngest, he had out grown his brother and wore a similar outfit, but with a blue scarf and overall shorts.

Dice still couldn't believe these were the same two that had beaten him and the Devil. How long had it been? Three years? Five?

The Devil waved his hand in dismissal to Wheezy and Hopus, who both disappeared into smoke. The Devil leaned forward, his pitch-fork in one hand while the other rested on his knee, "Come closer, boys. Let me have a good look at you."

Both came forward, stepping into a brighter light for both the Devil and Dice to see. Cracks still covered Cuphead's cup and arm from the previous battles they fought and even Mugman was missing a piece of his handle from the final battle. But all in all, they looked well.

"Dice tells me that you both wanted to speak to us."

"Yes sir," Cuphead spoke.

It was then that Cuphead explained what had happened only a few months ago. Elder Kettle had passed away unexpectedly, leaving both boys his home and everything in it. They had gone through some of his things to give away when they found an all too familiar piece of paper.

It was a contract that had been signed by the Devil and Elder Kettle for the possession of two children who had been found in the vicinity of the Devil's Casino almost twenty years ago. The two children had no contacts and, when Elder Kettle had caught wind of it, he decided that he was going to be the one to claim responsibility for the two boys. He agreed, in exchange for the possession of the two boys, that he would sell his pure soul to the Devil.

Mugman held out the contract to the Devil, who had Dice look over it. It looked real, but Dice couldn't remember anything like this when he was working in the Casino, unless it was done in private. King Dice looked at the two boys before asking, "Why is it that you've come here?"

"We want you to free Elder Kettle's soul," Cuphead explained.

"We'll sell both of ours back to you in exchange for his," Mugman agreed.

"No, absolutely not!" The Devil growled.

"Boss," Dice spoke softly, "They could be of use to us. After all, if Elder Kettle hadn't meddled in your affairs, the boys would have grown up here."

The Devil tapped his chin in thought as Dice continued quietly, "Elder Kettle has no real use to you now that he's dead and gone, but these two could be useful as they're still alive. Remember their power and strength they showed us?"

The Devil shuddered slightly and Dice could only imagine what he was thinking. He hadn't seen the fight between the brothers and the Devil, but had seen the damage they had caused. The Devil had literally been beaten to a pulp.

"What about your _friends_?" the Devil sneered at the boys, "What do they think of this?"

"We couldn't tell them," Mugman explained, "If they knew that Elder Kettle did what he did to save us…"

"They'd feel guilt," Cuphead answered.

"And yer both only doing this to protect them?"

"To protect Elder Kettle," Mugman spoke, his eyes flashing blue, "He was more than our guardian, he was the only family we knew and we have to repay him somehow!"

"And if by selling our souls to free his is payment enough," Cuphead nodded in determination, "We'll keep fighting to free him until we die."

Dice cocked a brow at the boys' speech. He knew they were strong and convinced, but doing something for the sake of someone else and not doing it to free themselves, that was something entirely different.

The Devil chuckled before smiling, "Very well."

A contract and two pens appeared before the brothers. The contract read the following:

"I, Cuphead, and I, Mugman, agree to serve the Devil and King Dice for eternity, offering our souls in exchange for Elder Kettle's pure soul. If this contract is broken by the Devil and/or Dice, our Souls shall be free with no strings attached. However, if we break our side of the deal, the Devil and/or Dice shall do as they please. We sign knowing the terms and agreements of this soul-binding contract."

The brothers signed their names on the dotted lines below before the contract turned, allowing both the Devil and Dice to sign it as well. A snap of the Devil's fingers and a spirit appeared before the group.

Elder Kettle looked up to see his two boys smiling sadly at him, "Boys! What-?"

"They've set you free, Kettle," The Devil grinned, holding up the newly signed contract with both Mugman's and Cuphead's signatures scrawled on the paper.

"What-? No! Boys!"

The two of them ran and hugged their spectral father, tears falling down their cheeks.

"It doesn't matter, dad," Cuphead smiled, "We'll be alright."

"Be free, pops," Mugman grinned through tears, "You deserve it."

Then, Elder Kettle was gone, leaving the two cup brothers with their new guardians.


End file.
